Tag Archive for: VGCC

VGCC registers potentially life-saving bone marrow donors

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— courtesy VGCC

Vance-Granville Community College, in partnership with the Project Life Movement, held a three-day, three-campus bone marrow registration drive in October. The service project was led by students and faculty in the VGCC Radiography program. The result was that 40 people joined the national registry of potential bone marrow donors.

Students, faculty and staff signed up and swabbed their cheeks to provide DNA samples at the events, held on Oct. 3 at the college’s South Campus, Oct. 4 at the Main Campus and Oct. 5 at the Franklin County Campus. The painless registration process took only a few minutes, but could save a life if a participant turns out to be a match for someone in need of a bone marrow transplant. Such treatments are the only hope for many people diagnosed with leukemia, lymphoma, sickle cell anemia and other blood cancers and diseases.

Second-year VGCC Radiography students, joined by Clinical Coordinator/instructor Stacey Soles (at far left) and Dorian Edwards, campus coordinator for Project Life (in back, at far right), welcomed fellow students, faculty and staff to join the bone marrow donor registry in the student lounge on VGCC’s Main Campus. (VGCC photo)

Project Life is a national movement that started with students at Davidson College and has spread to more than 25 other schools and has registered more than 13,000 donors. This was VGCC’s second college-wide bone marrow registration event held in conjunction with Project Life. The first was in the fall of 2015.

This year, VGCC students were joined at their events by Dorian Edwards, campus coordinator for Project Life. He helped train the student volunteers and process registrations. Edwards, who is also an assistant football coach at Kinston High School, likened being on the registry to “being a member of a football or basketball team, sitting on the bench, but being ready to be called into the game at any time.” Once a person registers, he or she is listed on the registry until they reach the age of 61, so many students may remain a potential lifesaver for 40 years. Project Life works with “Be The Match,” operated by the National Marrow Donor Program (NMDP). Be The Match has managed the largest and most diverse marrow registry in the world for more than 25 years.

From left, first-year VGCC Radiography students Caitlin West, Megan Whitman and Michael Leslie were joined by Project Life Campus Coordinator Dorian Edwards at the college’s South Campus as they welcomed students, faculty to staff to register on the first day of the drive. (VGCC photo)

For more information, contact Radiography Clinical Coordinator/instructor Stacey Soles at (252) 738-3515 or soless@vgcc.edu, or Ann Henegar at Project Life at (704) 299-6310 or www.projectlifemovement.org.

Students learn about careers at VGCC Manufacturing Day

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— courtesy VGCC

Vance-Granville Community College held a “Manufacturing Day” celebration on Thursday, Oct. 5, in the Civic Center on the college’s Main Campus in Vance County. Nearly 200 high school students from Franklin, Granville, Vance and Warren counties attended, along with VGCC students, educators and other members of the community. They learned about how manufacturing has changed, local career possibilities in the field and options for education and training related to careers in the industry.

“Manufacturing Day is a national event meant to inspire the next generation of manufacturers and expose them to modern manufacturing trends,” said Tiffani M. Polk, an academic and career coach with the TechHire program at VGCC. “Our industry partners described the students as highly engaged and inquisitive. Together, I think we were able to reframe what manufacturing is for our future workforce.”

Participating employers included Altec of Creedmoor, Boise Cascade of Roxboro, Carolina Sunrock of Butner, Dill Air Controls of Oxford, Edwards Inc. of Spring Hope, Fastenal of Raleigh, Glen Raven of Norlina, Home Care Products of Oxford, Mars Petcare of Henderson, Novozymes of Franklinton, Plastic Ingenuity of Oxford, Revlon of Oxford, and Superior Tooling of Wake Forest.

Students talk with, seated from left, Revlon representatives Bonnie Garrett and Wendy Grissom at Manufacturing Day in the VGCC Civic Center. (VGCC photo)

VGCC technical programs were represented, including Air Conditioning, Heating & Refrigeration Technology, Automotive Systems Technology, Electrical Systems Technology, Electronics Engineering Technology, Mechatronics Engineering Technology and Welding Technology. A representative from the Kerr-Tar Workforce Development Board was on hand, as well.

Attendees also learned about the North Carolina Triangle Apprenticeship Program (NCTAP), which partners with colleges like VGCC and employers to prepare a skilled workforce. An alternative to the traditional four-year college degree, the program takes a student from high school through a two-year community college program like Mechatronics Engineering Technology, with the guarantee of a job at the completion of the program.

Sandy Whitfield from Altec talks with students at Manufacturing Day in the VGCC Civic Center. (VGCC photo)

Reflecting on the event, Revlon representative Bonnie Garrett said that “it was nice to get to introduce high school students to our company and to careers in manufacturing that they don’t often think about. We rarely get an opportunity like this.”

Joel Bailey of Edwards said it was his company’s first time participating in a VGCC Manufacturing Day event. He noted that Edwards, a full-service industrial general contractor with a specialty fabrication shop, has many job openings and was particularly interested in recruiting graduates of VGCC’s Welding, Electrical Systems and HVAC programs.

Steve Tsotsoros from Dill Air Controls shows some of the products manufactured by his company to students attending Manufacturing Day in the VGCC Civic Center. (VGCC photo)

The TechHire grant program at VGCC organized Manufacturing Day, with support from the Advanced Manufacturing Skills Training Alliance (AMSTA), a partnership of VGCC and local K-12 school systems. The North Carolina TechHire program supports advanced manufacturing and information technology training. VGCC is one of four partnering community colleges in the North Carolina TechHire Alliance, funded by a grant from the U.S. Department of Labor. For more information on TechHire, contact Tiffani Polk at polkt@vgcc.edu or (252) 738-3291.

–VGCC–

(Vance Granville is a paying advertising client of WIZS.)

Joel Bailey from Edwards Inc. (center) talks with VGCC Welding student Cedric Rodebaugh of Franklinton at Manufacturing Day in the VGCC Civic Center. (VGCC photo)

VGCC invites community to Fall Festival

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— courtesy VGCC

Vance Granville Community College will hold a “Community Fall Festival” on Monday, Oct. 30, from 5:30 – 8 p.m. in the Civic Center on the college’s Main Campus in Vance County. Admission is free to the event, which promises fun for the whole family.

Among the scheduled activities are a costume contest for kids, face painting, a bounce house and other games.

Tickets for games and concessions will be on sale. Proceeds will benefit the VGCC Vanguards Athletics department.

For more information, contact Coordinator of Student Activities & Athletics Jermiel Hargrove at (252) 738-3246 or hargrovej@vgcc.edu.

–VGCC–

(Vance Granville CC is a paying advertising client of WIZS.)

VGCC agricultural initiative highlighted at local food economies meeting

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— courtesy VGCC

Vance-Granville Community College’s Main Campus served as the host for a late-September gathering of community leaders from throughout the region interested in local food economies.

The meeting, entitled “Innovations in Economic Development through Local Foods,” was organized by the Center for Environmental Farming Systems (CEFS), a partnership of North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University, the North Carolina Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, and North Carolina State University. Laura Lauffer of CEFS said that the organization had conducted the same event at two other locations elsewhere in North Carolina before VGCC, but that this was their best-attended to date.

As she welcomed participants to the college, VGCC President Dr. Stelfanie Williams said, “We are excited about the opportunities ahead for this region of North Carolina, and we are happy to be a partner in economic, agricultural and environmental stewardship.”

The first part of the meeting consisted of presenters sharing innovative models related to entrepreneurship and supporting local farmers that could be replicated in other communities. First up was VGCC Small Business Center Director Tanya Weary, talking about the college’s “NC REAL Agricultural Entrepreneurship” program. Lauffer said that Weary and VGCC are “pioneers in leading agriculture business classes and promoting agriculture in the community college system.”

Tanya Weary, director of the VGCC Small Business Center (standing), addresses attendees at the “Innovations in Economic Development through Local Foods” event.

Weary told attendees that the Agricultural Entrepreneurship program, a seven-week, interactive course designed to strengthen the business savvy of community farmers and budding agricultural entrepreneurs, succeeded in part because of strong partnerships. She partnered with the VGCC Human Resources Development department, the N.C. Tobacco Trust Fund Commission, the Vance County Regional Farmers Market, N.C. Cooperative Extension, local city and county governments, attorneys, banks and other businesses.

“We have worked with other community colleges to share our experience about how we started this, who our partners are and how we’ve been able to grow this,” Weary said. “We have served around 65 students since starting in late 2014, and that’s a real success for this area. We’re very pleased with it.”

She added that the course spurred VGCC to offer other agriculture-related programs. A new free, three-part workshop series, “Planting Your Marketing Seeds for Your Agricultural Business,” is scheduled for Tuesday evenings, Nov. 7-21. Carrie Harvey, the instructor, also taught many of the college’s Agricultural Entrepreneurship classes.

Other presenters included Ardis Crews of the Green Rural Redevelopment Organization; Henry Crews (a graduate of the first NC REAL Agricultural Entrepreneurship class at VGCC) and Jennifer Dietsche, discussing a Vidant Health initiative at Vidant Medical Center in Greenville; Jimbo Eason and John Kimber from Covington Vodka; Eric Hallman of the Piedmont Food and Agriculture Processing Center (PFAP); Mike Ortosky of Orange County Agriculture Economic Development; and Gabe Cummings of Warren County-based Working Landscapes. CEFS has produced a short video on Working Landscapes, which participants enjoyed watching during lunch.

The Harvest Restaurant of Oxford catered a lunch featuring local food for the meeting. After lunch, attendees heard presenters discuss statewide resources, including the Carolina Farm Stewardship Association, the N.C. Department of Agriculture & Consumer Services, the N.C. Department of Commerce, the N.C. Rural Center and CEFS projects.

The CEFS “Local Food Economies” initiative is part of the NC Growing Together (NCGT) project. NCGT is a five-year, USDA-funded project that aims to bring more locally-produced foods into mainstream markets, strengthening the economics of small to mid-sized farm and fishing operations and their communities. In addition to research, academic and extension components, NCGT also aims to create an enabling environment for farms and food businesses.

For more information on the VGCC Small Business Center, contact Tanya Weary at smallbusiness@vgcc.edu or (252) 738-3240.

–VGCC–

J.M. White Funeral Home Endows VGCC Scholarship

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— courtesy VGCC

VGCC scholarship endowed by local funeral home

A new Vance-Granville Community College scholarship has been endowed by J.M. White Funeral Home of Henderson in memory of its namesake and co-founder, Jerry Marshall White Sr.

His widow and co-owner of the funeral home, Betty Oakes White, said that the family sought to create the scholarship because “education is the future for our children, and we want everyone to be able to get an education.” She noted that higher education in particular is more important than ever to allowing area residents to obtain gainful employment.

In awarding the Jerry Marshall White Sr. Memorial Academic Achievement Scholarship, preference will be given to students who are enrolled in VGCC’s Accounting and Business Administration programs.

Although this is the first scholarship that the business has endowed, J.M. White Funeral Home is a longtime supporter of the annual VGCC Endowment Fund Golf Tournament. “This community has been good to us, so we support our community,” Betty White said.

J.M. White Funeral Home was established in 1967 as Waite and White Funeral Home. Jerry M. White Sr. became the sole owner of the business in 1971, and the name was changed. After his death, the business continued to serve families in the area under the direction of J. Hillman Dickerson, who was supported by a loyal and professional staff. With the help of that staff, Jerry’s wife, Betty, gradually took over as manager of the funeral home, eventually becoming a licensed funeral director herself. Following in their father’s tradition of dignified service, Mr. and Mrs. White’s sons, Jerry White Jr. and Gregory Scott White, came into the business after gaining their education in funeral service. The funeral home has been operating at its current location on Zeb Robinson Road in Henderson since 1989.

“This scholarship is a wonderful tribute to J.M. White and to the half-century of service that the funeral home bearing his name has given to this community,” said Dr. Stelfanie Williams, president of VGCC. “We appreciate the White family’s support for VGCC students, which will make a difference for generations to come.”

Through the Endowment Fund, VGCC has awarded more than 8,800 scholarships to students since 1982. Scholarships have been endowed by numerous individuals, industries, businesses, civic groups, churches and the college’s faculty and staff. Tax-deductible donations to the VGCC Endowment Fund have often been used to honor or remember a person, group, business or industry with a lasting gift to education. For more information about the Endowment Fund, call (252) 738-3409.

–VGCC–

VGCC hosts Basic Skills Open House on Main Campus

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— courtesy VGCC

Vance-Granville Community College will hold an Open House for its Adult Basic Skills department on Tuesday, October 3, from 8:30 a.m. until 12:30 p.m. and later from 6 p.m. until 9 p.m., in room 7212 of Building 7 on the college’s Main Campus in Vance County.

“We invite all who did not finish high school to come see and hear how our Adult Basic Skills Department can either help adults gain enough credits to earn a high school diploma or gain enough knowledge to earn a High School Equivalency diploma, which is more commonly known as a GED,” said Greg Nash, who chairs the Adult Basic Skills department at VGCC. “Additionally, we invite all whose native language differs from English to come see and hear how our Adult Basic Skills Department can help adults improve their abilities to speak and read English.”

Adult Basic Skills/Literacy Education programs at VGCC help adults improve their reading, writing and math skills and complete their high school education. Classes are available at all four VGCC campuses and at various community locations. VGCC now offers Adult High School and high school equivalency test preparation online, as well. Either way, instruction is offered free of charge.

Another VGCC program is “Basic Skills Plus,” which allows students seeking a high school diploma or equivalent to co-enroll at the same time in occupational training and employability skills within identified career pathways.

Once students complete either the Adult High School or high school equivalency program, they receive a certificate worth free tuition and fees for one semester of courses in curriculum programs at VGCC, absorbing costs not covered by federal financial aid.

For more information, contact Adult Basic Skills Department Chair Greg Nash at (252) 738-3305.

–VGCC–

VGCC announces free Small Business Summit with holiday focus

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The Vance-Granville Community College Small Business Center has scheduled its sixth annual Small Business Summit for Tuesday, Oct. 24, from 8 a.m. until 1 p.m., at the Lake Gaston Lions Club in Henrico. Entitled “Making the Holidays Pay Off,” the free event is designed to help local businesses plan ahead for the upcoming holiday season with innovative marketing practices.

CenturyLink is the presenting sponsor for the event. Local partners helping VGCC to organize the summit are the Chamber of Commerce of Warren County, the Warren County Economic Development Commission and the Lake Gaston Regional Chamber of Commerce & Visitors Center.

Business representatives and interested members of the community are invited to attend. Registration is now open at tinyurl.com/holiday-summit.

The day starts off with registration and networking with attendees and vendors at 8 a.m. The first hour-long seminar will be “Shop Local — Buy Local — Invest Local to Gain More Business for You and Your Area” at 8:30 a.m. Presenter Martin Brossman will help participants get the most out of a “Shop Local” program, including the use of social media.

“Holiday Event Planning for the Small Business Owner” follows at 9:45 a.m. with Lisa Gingue of Vino Oasi in Stem. Gingue will discuss planning events that attract holiday shoppers.

At 11 a.m., Brossman will present “Take Photos like a Pro to Get More Business with Your Social Media.” This session covers the basics of low-cost photography techniques to attract more customers with social media and web marketing.

The keynote presentation, from noon until 1 p.m., will be “Get Social! Grow Your Business!” with Kristen Baughman and Stacey Price Sprenz, both of Raleigh-based Tabletop Media Group. Baughman, the founder of the agency, and Sprenz, a photographer, will teach attendees how to take their social media to the next level using photos and videos. They will offer a few tips and tricks on how to promote participants’ businesses and unique holiday offerings to media outlets and social influencers in their community. Tabletop Media Group is a boutique agency serving clients in the food, beverage, agriculture and lifestyle industries.

Lunch will be provided free of charge to the first 100 registered participants by CenturyLink. For more information, contact VGCC Small Business Center Director Tanya Weary at (252) 738-3240 or smallbusiness@vgcc.edu.

–VGCC–

VGCC instructor graduates from leadership program

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Dr. Kambiz Tahmaseb, a Biology and Chemistry instructor at Vance-Granville Community College, recently graduated from the North Carolina Community College Leadership Program (NCCCLP). He is one of approximately 35 community college faculty and staff members from across the state who completed the program this year.

The six-month leadership program, which includes face-to-face instruction at various locations, provides preparation and training to develop future community college leaders. The program is highly experiential in nature, and, this year, participants worked in teams to address challenges at hypothetical community colleges. They became involved in every aspect of those colleges, from naming and branding to strategic planning.

In addition to strengthening their leadership skills, NCCCLP participants learn about the structure and governance of the community college system, enjoy opportunities for networking, and form a diverse pool of qualified educational leaders.

“The major lesson I learned from the program is that leadership is not about being the president of a college, or a company or a nation,” Dr. Tahmaseb said. “Leadership happens in every level of our lives. In the NCCCLP, I learned a lot about myself, and how I interact with others, both in my private life and professional life, and how those interactions affect how I may influence those individuals. The lessons I learned will help me as a husband, father, teacher and colleague.”

A resident of Durham, Tahmaseb earned bachelor’s degrees in Biology and Chemistry at Willamette University in Oregon and a Ph.D. in Biomedical Science at Wright State University in Ohio. He was also a postdoctoral research associate at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Tahmaseb joined the VGCC faculty in 2012 and has taught both face-to-face and online science courses, spending most of his time at the college’s South Campus near Creedmoor. He is also currently serving his second term as the elected vice president of external affairs for the North Carolina Community College Faculty Association.

The North Carolina Community College Leadership Program was created in 1989, under the auspices of the state chapter of the American Association for Women in Community Colleges, to provide an interdisciplinary approach to leadership training through professional development. Graduates have used the skills and connections gained from the program to be more successful leaders in all areas and at all levels in the North Carolina Community College System.

–VGCC–

VGCC to hold Bone Marrow registration events

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Vance-Granville Community College, in partnership with the Project Life Movement, is planning a three-day, three-campus bone marrow registration drive in October.

Members of the community are invited to join VGCC students, faculty and staff at one of the events being held on three of the college’s campuses: Tuesday, October 3, from 11 a.m. until 2 p.m. in the seminar room (G1131) on South Campus, located between Creedmoor and Butner; Wednesday, October 4, from 11 a.m. until 2 p.m. in the student center/lounge in Building 2 on Main Campus in Vance County; and Thursday, October 5, from 11 a.m. until 2 p.m. in the multi-purpose room on the Franklin County Campus near Louisburg. 

At each event, participants will have their cheek swabbed to provide DNA that will enter a growing bone marrow donor registry. The painless registration process takes only a few minutes, but could save a life if a participant turns out to be a match for someone in need of a bone marrow transplant. Such treatments are the only hope for many people diagnosed with leukemia, lymphoma, sickle cell anemia and other blood cancers and diseases. Around 60 percent of those in need of a donation currently cannot find a donor match, according to Project Life, a national movement that started with students at Davidson College and has spread to more than 25 other schools. VGCC first held a college-wide bone marrow registration event with Project Life in the fall of 2015.

Participants must be between the ages of 18 and 60 and in good health to be on the bone marrow registry.

Taking the lead on this initiative at VGCC are students in the Radiography program.

For more information, contact Radiography Clinical Coordinator/instructor Stacey Soles at (252) 738-3515 or soless@vgcc.edu, or Ann Henegar at (704) 299-6310 or www.projectlifemovement.org.

Anyone who is unable to attend one of the VGCC events but wants to join the bone marrow registry can find more information at www.deletebloodcancer.org.

–VGCC–

VGCC Golden LEAF scholarships Spring/Summer 2017

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— news release courtesy of VGCC

A group of students from Vance-Granville Community College recently received scholarships through the Golden LEAF Scholarship program for the North Carolina Community College System. The scholarship program, designed to help North Carolinians attend the state’s community colleges, is funded through a $750,000 grant from the Golden LEAF Foundation.

The scholarship can be used to assist with tuition, books, fees, supplies, transportation and childcare expenses related to attending classes during the 2016-17 academic year, and industry-recognized credential testing expenses that address skill gaps upon course completion. Eligible students must demonstrate financial need and reside in rural counties that are tobacco-dependent and/or economically distressed. Scholarships for both occupational (continuing education) and curriculum students are available during the fall, spring and summer semesters.

The VGCC students who were awarded Golden LEAF scholarships for the spring 2017 semester, the summer 2017 term, or both (with their respective programs of study), included:

Sally Alston of Louisburg (Associate in Arts);
Jennifer Bauduin of Louisburg (Associate in General Education – General Science);
Sonia Bishop of Stem (Computer Technology Integration – Networking and Security Technologies);
Gloria Chavis of Butner (Human Services Technology/Substance Abuse);
Whitney Cox of Oxford (Radiography);
Taylor Crisp of Warrenton (Associate Degree Nursing);
Catherine Demming of Oxford (Criminal Justice);
Emory Gant-Hawkins of Henderson (Business Administration);
Latosha Hunt of Oxford (Business Administration);

Quiana Miller-Fisher of Henderson (Human Services Technology);
Nahu Palacios of Henderson (Associate in Arts);
Crystal Satterfield of Oxford (Associate Degree Nursing);
Kimberly Vargo of Oxford (Associate in Arts); and
Tiffany Williams of Henderson (Culinary Arts).

“The Golden LEAF Foundation is proud to have awarded over 11,800 Golden LEAF Scholarships to help North Carolinians attend our state’s community colleges,” said Dan Gerlach, Golden LEAF president. “Our hope is that these scholarships will help build the talent, knowledge and skills of our current and future workforce, which are in demand by industry, especially in the rural areas of our state.”

The Golden LEAF Foundation is a nonprofit organization established in 1999 to help transform North Carolina’s economy. The foundation receives one-half of North Carolina’s funds from the 1998 Master Settlement Agreement with cigarette manufacturers and places special emphasis on assisting tobacco-dependent, economically distressed and/or rural communities across the state. The Golden LEAF Foundation works in partnership with governmental entities, educational institutions, economic development organizations and nonprofits to achieve its mission. The foundation has awarded 1,346 grants totaling more than $591 million since its inception. For more information about the foundation, visit www.goldenleaf.org or call (888) 684-8404.

Students interested in applying for a Golden LEAF Scholarship should contact the VGCC Financial Aid Office at (252) 738-3280.

–VGCC–